Fragmented Destiny
by ohlawsons
Summary: The Wrath is little more than a myth, a shadowy figure working silently to sculpt and bend the Empire to her will. The Barsen'thor is an eager and eccentric member of the Jedi Council, well-known for her work in both politics and academia. They find themselves forced to work together - but not all allegiances end with the mission. Update 2: "Starlight" pt. 1, Lana/SW
1. mirror image

_**A/N:** so a while back "I rly love rei" and "I rly love consulars" combined into a jedi!rei au and _snowballed _into this with the whole LvsD event so uh_

 _this is just an intro/info dump fic to get a hang of writing rei as a consular and cori as a warrior, but in the future I'm not sure I'll be doing much with the actual plot of sor/kotfe. as much as I love the whole cross-faction romances, there are fun things you just can't do with them, so this is my self-indulgent-ship-fluff project to make up for that [if you_ do _want plot stuff or canon stuff I'll shamelessly recommend my sor fic Ostensibly]_

 _there's also at least one fake married fic planned._

* * *

 _Manaan, 13 ATC_

Rei split from the Sith as soon as they landed back at the facility. Nadia trailed behind, casting glances at the togruta and her apprentice even as they disappeared further down the walkway.

" _So_ ," Rei began, drawing the single syllable out as she spoke to Theron over the comm line, "the Sith was a nice touch."

" _When I tried putting the_ diplomat _in charge of finding allies, she said 'no, we'll be fine' and complained about how boring politics are_."

"That was back when our plan involved sneaking into some private research labs, not sinking half the facilities." Rei motioned to Nadia, and they slowly began walking back from where they'd landed the escape shuttle. With their soaked robes and sloshing boots, it would be a _long_ trip back to the office Theron was waiting at. "But it's fine. It was nice. Like a little master—padawan dual training session. We all stab things together and the other pair… you know."

She faltered; fighting alongside a Sith hadn't quite been an experience she could put into _words_. The actual _fighting_ had been mostly the same, though the two Sith were far more in sync than Rei and Nadia. The togruta had a flair for the dramatic, Rei assumed, given that she seemed to prefer to kill things with a quick burst of Force energy or a few precise strikes of her lightsaber then turn and walk away, cape billowing behind her in a way that could only be _intentional_.

Her apprentice, it seemed, was at least polite. Rei could easily sense that she was incredibly powerful in the Force, but she wasn't the beacon of darkness her master was — she was simply _there_. Rei had figured that she — perhaps even moreso than Nadia — would be interested in her knowledge of the Force-sensitive selkath, but Theron had suggested over the comm that she wait.

Something about _maybe when they're not trying to kill you_.

Well, when they returned, Rei would be enlightening them — and not just on Force cults, but architecture, too; recent trends on Manaan were among some of her favorites, right up there with ancient Sith and the upper levels of Taris before its destruction.

All of which, she supposed, should probably wait until their current situation was dealt with.

When Rei and Nadia arrived back at the office they'd originally met Theron at, they found him gathering up datapads and equipment and anything else he'd brought with him. He glanced up, tossing a small holoprojector at Rei that she barely caught by reaching out with the Force. "The Imperials are after the Revanites, too," Theron offered as explanation. "They've agreed to play nice and help us go after Darok and Arkous."

Rei let the holoprojector drop into her waiting hands. The thought of having to continue to work with the Sith was enough to send a shiver along her spine; she supposed it was too much to hope that they could simply let the Imperials handle the situation alone, and she got the feeling Theron wasn't the sort to leave a job half finished. If she left — and she was almost tempted to — it would mean leaving Theron to work with at least three Sith, which wasn't something Rei would've been comfortable leaving _anyone_ to do. Except, maybe, another Sith.

As she followed Theron out of the cramped office — assuming they were headed to meet with the Imperials — Rei motioned for Nadia to follow and fell into step beside Theron. "Do you trust them?"

He gave her a quick sidelong glance, frowning. "We don't have to trust them to work with them," he finally offered with a shrug. "Right now they want the same thing we do, which is to take care of the Revanites."

"I suppose that's enough for now." Still, it left the question of what they would do once everything was over; at best, it would be an awkward parting of ways, but Rei doubted things would end on such positive terms.

After making their way through the facility, they entered into a large room, one that looked as if it were normally used as a conference room of sorts. The togruta and her apprentice stood near the table, and a twi'lek sat cross-legged on one of the chairs, her chin resting on one of her hands. A blonde Sith stood near them, and greeted Rei, Theron, and Nadia as they entered.

"Theron Shan." She gave a short nod towards the agent, then turned to others. "And the Jedi team. Lana Beniko," she introduced herself. "I helped to coordinate the Empire's attack on Tython."

Rei cleared her throat; she squared her shoulders and straightened her posture in an reflexive attempt to keep from being overshadowed by the Sith. "Master Reiyaxa Kahzri," she paused, clasping her hands behind her back, "of the Jedi High Council. This is my padawan, Nadia. We're well aware of your role in the attack." The last bit slipped out before Rei fully realized what she was saying, earning her a skeptical eyebrow raise from Lana and an exasperated eye roll from Theron.

"This is the Lord Wrath." Lana motioned to the togruta. "She and her crew have been an integral part of our success."

"Lord Coryn Ven. If our goals truly align, then it will be a pleasure working with you." Her voice was softer than Lana's, smooth and quiet and not at all what Rei expected from someone with such a towering, imposing figure. She inspected the Republic team, glancing over them with her sharp, coppery eyes before continuing. "My apprentice, Jaesa, and my second-in-command, Vette. Now — Theron, you mentioned something about Rakatan technology."

"Right." Theron held out a hand, and Rei surrendered the holoprojector, which he set on one of the large tables and pulled up some information from his datapad. "Here's what we know about the actual cyborgs."

The twi'lek gave a long, loud sigh, leaning back on her hands and tilting her head to look over at the Wrath. "Considering what you've gotten us into, I'm revoking your vacation-planet-choosing privileges."

* * *

"Are you certain this wise? Or even necessary?"

If Lana was at all perturbed by Cori's constant questioning, she didn't show it. "Respectfully, my lord," she began, turning to face Cori, "I do believe it's necessary. Seeing as it's our only real option at this point, whether or not it's _wise_ is beside the point, is it not?"

Cori didn't respond immediately, instead frowning and continuing to watch as the Republic team made their way through the long hallways of the Manaan facility that had become their impromptu base of operations. There was something not quite _right_ about the trio; Cori had met members of the Jedi council before — none of which were still alive — and this _Master Reiyaxa_ was… odd. She was filled with eagerness and pride and a sort of unsettled agitation that Cori couldn't quite decipher, yet the Jedi didn't try to hide _any_ of it. And her padawan was hardly a shining example of the light side; there wasn't necessarily darkness within her, but a churning mess of emotions that, in Cori's opinion, would've made the girl a wonderful Sith.

The pair was concerning enough, and that wasn't even taking the _spy_ into consideration. He seemed earnest but guarded, and Cori sensed nothing but honesty when he offered to work with them, but that was far from enough for her to trust him; her sister was a spy, and though they'd fallen out of touch in recent years, Cori knew just enough about the workings of Imperial Intelligence to know that everything — well-intentioned or not — was an _opportunity_.

Besides, Shan already knew more about her than anyone outside of the Dark Council.

As the Wrath, Cori was no more than a shadow or a myth, an agent of the Emperor that most Imperials doubted even existed. Beyond tales told in hushed whispers, the only proof of the Wrath's existence was her bare chambers given to her within the Citadel, where Quinn — now a glorified secretary — resided, taking requests and jobs and messages and passing on only the most important to Cori.

She had all but a dozen people in the Empire doubting her existence, and Shan knew exactly who she was and what she looked like. It was a problem that would have to be _handled_ , sooner rather than later; it was only a matter of _how_.

"And when this is over?" Cori cleared her throat, glancing over at Lana. "We cannot simply part ways."

Lana tilted her head a bit, brow furrowing as she thought. "Couldn't we? I don't believe they intend to deceive us — it's not typical of the Republic, and Master Reiyaxa has a bit of a history with… unconventional alliances."

"Ten minutes ago you were telling me to be wary, that she rose to her station by systematically hunting down Sith and fallen Jedi."

" _They_ weren't her allies."

Cori had to clench her teeth to keep from breaking into a smile at the teasing lilt to Lana's tone. As it was, she could already feel her frustration and worry dissipating, replaced with an unfocused preoccupation with the golden-haired Sith standing beside her. "Might I remind you, Miss Beniko, that when this is all over, we'll no longer be her allies. Just Sith." She clasped her hands behind her back and continued to stare out across the rest of the facility, but the edge had drained from her voice as well. "Or shall we just plan to burn that bridge when we come to it?"

Amusement shone in Lana's eyes, though the rest of her expression remained pensive. "Not exactly how I would word it, but yes."

For Vette's sake, Cori pretended she couldn't hear the twi'lek's snickering from behind them.


	2. starlight: part one

_**A/N:** in which cori throws a party and lana is invited_

 _I've had this in the works for a while and finally split it into two parts to post this. part two is about halfway done, depending on whether it cooperates or ends up way longer than expected. also this one wasn't edited except for during a 4am insomnia-fueled writing spree, so uh. the quality may be questionable._

* * *

Lana had always considered the Wrath to be a bit… _odd_ for a Sith, and Cori's impromptu banquet wasn't doing anything to change those opinions. Throwing a lavish affair in response to receiving terrible news was so painfully _Sith_ , and yet Cori didn't even seem to be at her own party.

Between the apparent return of the Emperor and Lana's new responsibilities as Minister of Sith Intelligence, she really had no reason to be here, sipping wine and making polite conversation; Sith parties were always just an excuse for politicking and collusion and usually, at least one person ended up dead as a result. But Lana had been in the city, and technically had a free evening; she couldn't spend _every_ waking moment focused on the rebuilding of Intelligence, after all — though even as her eyes scanned the gathered guests, Lana was debating the merits of the current nomenclature within the organization.

She'd nearly convinced herself that she'd come to give herself a well-deserved break, as well as to offer a bit of a reprieve to the flurry of advisors and officers now working beneath her. In truth, she was hoping to see Cori; the Wrath enjoyed her anonymity, and had kept her identity hidden well enough that Lana was certain she could turn up at her own dinner and no one would even _begin_ to suspect who she was. But after the events of the past few months, with Arkous and Revan and all that had transpired on Yavin 4, the Wrath had become even more elusive. Beyond a few messages and holocalls, Lana had only seen her once, and even that was at the official Council briefing weeks ago.

Lana had retreated to the balcony, originally to take a holocall but she remained even after, gathering her thoughts in the relative privacy as she debated simply leaving. The music and chattering from inside spilled out onto the balcony, and the sprawling nightlife of Kaas City spread out on the streets below her. There wasn't any rain, for once, but a slight breeze left a chill in the air. It would've made for a wonderful evening, if not for the multitude of things on Lana's mind.

Just before she'd fully committed to leaving, Lana felt a familiar presence moving through the throng of people inside, and turned to find the Wrath herself. Cori was in a sleeveless black dress with a slit up the side that nearly reached her hip, with her lightsaber clipped to a low-sitting belt, and Lana couldn't help but give her an appreciative once-over. Delicate golden jewelry adorned her montrals and lekku, far more ornate than what she usually wore. "You're late," Lana informed her, clearing her throat before adding in a lighter, more teasing tone, "my lord."

Cori joined her at the edge of the balcony, taking one of Lana's hands and lacing their fingers together. "Darth Parvos, for the night. A name I took some time ago to… help keep things separated. I don't often have a chance to use it," she remarked absently.

Lana suspected that any clever Sith would quickly make the connection between Darth Parvos and the Empire's Wrath, given the relative absence of high-ranking togruta among the Sith; although, there _was_ an astounding difference in demeanor, one that would've caught Lana off-guard had she not already experienced it. As the Wrath, Cori was all hard edges and sharpened ends, heavy masks and foreboding armor and the hot glow of crimson reflected in both her eyes and lightsaber — she was the closest thing to a living weapon that Lana had ever seen.

Now, though, she was… softer. Quieter.

"It's a lovely party," Lana remarked, glancing back inside. "Though it's success will no doubt be measured by how severely tonight shakes the political scene."

For a moment the edge returned, and Cori offered a tight-lipped smile and a hard stare towards the mass of people inside. "I've arranged for it to be a _resounding_ success." It was a bold claim, and delivered with such cold assurance that Lana didn't for a moment doubt that Cori had planned for the party to double as a reorganization of parts of the Sith government. Whether that plan went through, she assumed the rest of the night would tell. "It's… going to be quite the scene," Cori admitted, tone distracted and eyes fixated on Lana, "and I'd really rather not be here for all the fallout." She closed what little space was left between them, reaching up with her free hand to tuck Lana's hair — somewhat tousled from standing out in the wind — behind her ear.

It was a promising invitation, one Lana couldn't find reason to argue with; she argued, regardless. "I can't simply leave my duties for an entire evening. I had to make rather drastic adjustments just to find time to even be _here_." Sith Intelligence likely wouldn't fall just because she had an entire night to herself — she'd made certain the advisors and agents directly under her were capable of handling things in her absence — but that didn't mean Lana was prepared to test that.

Cori laughed, a quiet sound barely audible over the music and chatter still spilling out onto the balcony from inside. She tugged her hand free from Lana's, wrapping her arms around her waist and pressing a featherlight kiss to the corner of Lana's mouth. Lips moving to her ear, Cori asked, "Would you, Minister Beniko, do me the honor of putting yourself above the Empire for just _one_ night?"

Somewhat surprised — but not entirely caught off-guard — by Cori's forwardness, Lana felt a small smirk beginning to form. "No, but I do believe I can make arrangements to accommodate both myself and the Empire, just for tonight."


End file.
